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Innovation Nation

2016 Alumni

In 2016, Innovation Nation accelerated 28 ideas for social change in health and wellbeing with the help of three amazing partners: Charter Hall, Weight Watchers and Abbott Vascular.

Why? Australia is facing major challenges in health and wellbeing. Mental health issues, high levels of inequality and unhealthy lifestyles are all major issues affecting Australia’s growing population.

At FYA, we believe young people are key to driving social change in their community. We want to back youth led solutions to local problems in local communities.

We got plenty of amazing applications in four categories: health & wellness of our Indigenous and cultural communities, STEM innovation in health, and the proactive promotion of wellness through sport and healthy lifestyles.

Hussin Kamandi

Football Tournament and School Programs

The problem:

Less and less people every day are motivated enough to participate in sports and get out of their computer chairs.

My solution:

I created a football tournament to raise funds towards charity (Breast Cancer Foundation) being approximately $2500.

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

It enhanced my confidence in giving a shot at my dreams. It also created a sense of motivation for me to keep going on even after the program is over.

Pearl Paguio & Jonathan Bui

He(art)work

The problem:

Engaging the entire community in important discussions about community issues such as the health and wellbeing of Indigenous and cultural communities.

My solution:

Using artwork as a medium to spark a discussion, grow ideas and involve many members of the community.

Why we loved Innovation Nation:

It helped us redesign our idea and prepare us for implementing it. Without Innovation Nation, we wouldn’t have been able to see the kinks in our idea that would prevent us from achieving social impact where it matters.

Kaelan Dekker

Crowd Saviour

The problem:

High cardiac arrest fatalities and low CPR rates.

My solution:

Implementing an app to connect victims with CPR trained citizens.

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

The helpful coaching.

Khoa Cao

med_hack

The problem:

Medical innovation is very slow and inefficient. Much of this is because medical innovation is siloed.

My solution:

We are organising med_hack, which aims to bring medical innovation through a hackathon, a multidisciplinary creative problem solving event.

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

Abbott was actually quite an amazing sponsor, providing us the required connections, ideas and backing.

Madeleine Smith

noongar app

The problem:

Not enough language being taught in schools.

My solution:

Get something out there and help get it back in the community. Ultimately, I want to set up my business of creating an app to help teach the Noongar Language. Currently I volunteer at the local primary school one day a week to help the children who come to the Noongar Homework Club learn the Noongar language.

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

Because it was very helpful and I am enjoying it.

Sophie

Wheatbelt Walking Challenge

The problem:

I live in an amazing part of Western Australia, the Wheatbelt region. However, because the Wheatbelt is so large and many people live on farms or in small country towns, it is easy to feel disconnected and can be hard to find motivation to keep active.

My solution:

An online challenge that connects and supports residents from across 43 shires. Participants can connect their fitness tracker and track their daily steps against others, win awesome prizes and have access to a Facebook group, with weekly advice and tips from a trained exercise physiologist. The challenge has both physical and mental health benefits for participants.

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

Innovation Nation has given me the skills and resources to expand and improve my initial idea and enabled it to be so much bigger and more successful than I could have ever imagined!

Ebony Hoiberg

Bloom

The problem:

University is a stressful time and often students don’t have the tools to get them through array of emotions and high pressure that often arises during study.

My solution:

Bloom aims to be an early intervention and preventative tool that can be utilised by all University Students to help them recognise their emotions and have tools in place to prepare themselves for stressful times.

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

It has enabled me to discover new skills and grow the scope of the website.

Alice Zhang

The Learning Project

The problem:

Access to support services in the Northern Sydney Region is lacking for disadvantaged youth.

My solution:

Free educational support for high school aged young people experiencing disadvantage or hardship. The program is currently driven completely by passionate volunteers. We work closely with Naremburn School and their students, the local alternative/behavioural school in the region.

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

It matched me up with a passionate and generous mentor who was able to provide me with real world experience to help frame problems in a new way. The grant also allowed us some stability with the program, which consequently gives us more space to innovate and take creative risks rather than focus on scraping by.

Alice Hong

Coffee Et Al

The problem:

Not enough real conversations.

My solution:

Small intimate conversations to have real conversations

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

The coach and access to resources.

Madison Holness

The Vibe Collective

The problem:

Not enough social opportunities.

My solution:

Providing social opportunities to young people in the community through social inclusion. This is primarily done by hosting events that get young people networking to enhance their life.

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

It was great to be given the ability to set our vision in motion by some financial aid, and to also gain the third person’s perspective of what we do and how to market that.

Jorja Watts

Life as You Know it

The problem:

Individuals who are grieving struggle to find adequate support.

My solution:

Create an e-book, but through research it has been discovered that it would be best to create a website as that is more accessible for everyone.

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

Through it I obtained so much confidence as I knew that I have a team of people behind me supporting me and believing in my ideas and effort to help make the world a better place – even if it is just for one person.

Bonnie Tayloe

Wholesome and Happy

The problem:

The unhealthy, highly processed diets of Australian children and the growing childhood obesity epdemic as a result of this.

My solution:

I created healthier meals for the children at my work and educated them more about healthy living.

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

It gave me to tools and skills to kickstart my dream and create positive change.

Katelyn Jensen

Get Up, Stand Up and Fight

The problem:

Bullying and Mental Illness.

My solution:

Creating a Facebook page which provides resources to young people about problems or hard times they may be faced with (bullying, mental illnesses, exams or family breakups). Stories can be shared either from admins or page followers.

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

Through support and positive reinforcement I was guided on how I can post to the page but still get “caught up” in my own life. The program also highlighted how much I love helping people, reading others stories and having it shown to me that my project can make a difference!

Zoë Norval

Ego to Eco

The problem:

Stigmas around health and cost.

My solution:

I wanted to show people that living a healthy ethical life is possible so I wanted to provide people with resources to use. I created a free website with my own recipes and advice which people can use for themselves.

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

It helped me develop a stronger idea of what I wanted to do and helped me put my idea into motion. I love the program’s ongoing support and the range of resources provided for your idea.

Caitlin Royce

Beautiful Bodies

The problem:

Women in modern day society are constantly subjected to an unrealistic and unhealthy image. This image has been widely pushed and received since the dawn of media, advertisement and the beauty industry. It’s been the root of soul destroying body image disorders as well as educating women that what they look like and how they should look is more important then strength, achievement and overall health. This attitude and direction only leads to unbalanced lifestyle choices.

My solution:

Create an alternative. A website similar to a magazine that celebrates women. A safe place and community for women to share and learn from one another. To share a new image that encourages self love so that we concentrate all that wasted energy into leading joyful loves. A platform that normalises topics within woman/girlhood that are otherwise not addressed. This website will go beyond what you wear and what size it is and highlight true self expression and promote self acceptance.

Why I loved Innovation Nation:

Innovation Nation has offered support, excellent resources and research techniques that have been extremely helpful and defining for the project.